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Egret Silhouette. Oil on canvas. 16x20
I think I was about twelve when I painted this. Those blue lines were supposed to be ripples. I was not every good at painting ripples. You can see how thin the paint is. I remember at the time I thought it looked kind of like the egret was walking through a desert, maybe going on some journey, and I thought that was really interesting and cool, and hoped other people could see it. People would look at it and in my brain I'd be screaming "He's on a journey through the desert, guys! It's so much more interesting if you think of it that way come on say it he's in the desert, he's walking over warm sands, where is he going, what is he doing there, think about think about think about." I was mildly disappointed when it seemed that no one else saw the same thing.
I love drawing (and painting) egrets, herons, and other such wading birds. I love their shapes. The curves of their necks. The straight lines of their legs and beaks. The curve of their backs, their posture. Even their long-toed feet. They're so fun to draw. But I also just love them in general. They're some of my absolute favorite birds to watch. I can't even say way. They have such incredible patience and concentration. They're hunters. They fight and squabble with each other, yelling in harsh voices. And they have this weird, awkward elegance to them. A strange sort of dignity. I feel very lucky to live in a place where I see them all the time, where I can see seven species in a single day.
My favorite thing when I look at this painting now is the shade of blue on the egret itself.
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